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    How To Write A Concept Paper

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    Mekuria Tsegaye
    This document provides guidance on writing a concept paper in 3 to 5 pages for funders. It outlines the typical 5 elements to include: [1] Introduction aligning the applicant and funder missions; [2] Purpose and need for the project by outlining what is known and the knowledge gap; [3] Project description with goals, objectives, methodology and timeline; [4] Support or budget details; and [5] Contact information. Concept papers help funders evaluate ideas without a full proposal and provide a foundation for full proposals. They use a concise structure to clearly present the project rationale, solution, and request.

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    How To Write A Concept Paper

    Uploaded by

    Mekuria Tsegaye
    85 views2 pages
    This document provides guidance on writing a concept paper in 3 to 5 pages for funders. It outlines the typical 5 elements to include: [1] Introduction aligning the applicant and funder missions; [2] Purpose and need for the project by outlining what is known and the knowledge gap; [3] Project description with goals, objectives, methodology and timeline; [4] Support or budget details; and [5] Contact information. Concept papers help funders evaluate ideas without a full proposal and provide a foundation for full proposals. They use a concise structure to clearly present the project rationale, solution, and request.

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    How to Write a Concept Paper

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    This document provides guidance on writing a concept paper in 3 to 5 pages for funders. It outlines the typical 5 elements to include: [1] Introduction aligning the applicant and funder missions; [2] Purpose and need for the project by outlining what is known and the knowledge gap; [3] Project description with goals, objectives, methodology and timeline; [4] Support or budget details; and [5] Contact information. Concept papers help funders evaluate ideas without a full proposal and provide a foundation for full proposals. They use a concise structure to clearly present the project rationale, solution, and request.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    85 views2 pages

    How To Write A Concept Paper

    Uploaded by

    Mekuria Tsegaye
    This document provides guidance on writing a concept paper in 3 to 5 pages for funders. It outlines the typical 5 elements to include: [1] Introduction aligning the applicant and funder missions; [2] Purpose and need for the project by outlining what is known and the knowledge gap; [3] Project description with goals, objectives, methodology and timeline; [4] Support or budget details; and [5] Contact information. Concept papers help funders evaluate ideas without a full proposal and provide a foundation for full proposals. They use a concise structure to clearly present the project rationale, solution, and request.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    BRIEF: HOW TO WRITE A CONCEPT PAPER

    Funders often ask for brief 1- to 5-page concept papers (also called “white papers” in
    the government contracting sector) prior to submission of a full proposal. This helps
    them save time by eliminating ideas that are not likely to be funded.

    Applicants may use concept papers in any of the following ways:

    ▪ to interest potential funders


    ▪ to develop potential solutions or investigations into project ideas
    ▪ to determine whether a project idea is fundable
    ▪ to serve as the foundation of a full proposal

    Funders that request concept papers often provide a template or format. If templates
    or formats are not provided, the following can serve as a useful concept paper
    structure.

    THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF A CONCEPT PAPER

    1 The first section, the Introduction, identifies how and where the applicant’s
    mission and the funder’s mission intersect or align. It addresses the reasons why
    the funder should support projects in the given general area. It also introduces
    the applicant’s partners and shows why the partners want to participate in the
    project.

    2 Second is the Purpose or Need or Rationale, which outlines what others have
    written about the general topic and focuses on the gap in knowledge to be filled,
    the problem to be solved, or the need to be addressed by the applicant’s
    proposed project. Similar to a literature review, this section allows the applicant
    to state the purpose or need in such a way that the applicant’s project is the best
    possible solution to the problem. Also, it often provides statements addressing
    the significance of the project (showing why the project should be supported).

    In some cases, these first two sections are merged into a Background section that both
    introduces the alignment between the two organizations’ missions and provides the
    need statement.
    BRIEF: HOW TO WRITE A CONCEPT PAPER

    3 Third is the Project Description, functioning as the solution to the problem, the
    answer to the need, or the investigation that will fill the knowledge gap. In this
    section, the applicant addresses the unique, unusual, distinctive, innovative,
    and/or novel aspects of the approach, showing why the applicant’s team has the
    best solution and presenting a compelling case for funding.

    The project description includes the project’s Goals and Objectives. A goal is an
    abstract state of being, a condition, an end, or an aspiration while objectives are
    statements of measurable outcomes that, collectively, will help the applicant
    measure progress toward accomplishing the project goal(s). For example, a goal
    might be to improve student academic performance via a structured
    professional development program for teachers, while an objective might be to
    offer a specific kind of workshop or seminar on a particular topic for a defined
    set of teachers in a K-12 school district.

    The project description also includes an overview of the project’s Methodology


    (sometimes called Project Activities or Action Plan or Approach). The goals,
    objectives, and methods (or activities) will need to align closely with each other
    and will need to be accomplished within the proposed Timeline, expressed in
    either months or years. The methods or activities will need to be congruent with
    or based on what has been tried in the field in the past, they must be based on
    empirical evidence, and they will need to be both reasonable in cost and
    complexity and accomplishable within the proposed timeline.

    The project description typically concludes with a statement of Benefits (or


    Anticipated Outcomes) along with a description of who will benefit and how.

    4 The fourth section, Support or Budget, contains either (1) an outline of the main
    budget categories for the requested project support or (2) a single bottom-line
    amount of the request and a brief discussion of how that amount will be used.
    Some concept papers may not even include an amount requested.

    5 The fifth and final section provides the Contact Information of the applicant
    organization’s chief executive or his/her designee authorized to make funding
    requests.

    The above is a suggested general outline for a concept paper. Ultimately, if a given
    funder provides a specific template or format, the applicant must use the prescribed
    structure.

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